It wasn’t long ago that Rabbi Brad Hirschfield believed he possessed the ultimate truth about religion.

At 17 years old, he left his home in Chicago and moved to Israel based on a message from God.

‘How did I know? Because I just knew,’ Hirschfield said, confessing his naivety about faith as a young man.

Hirschfield, an Orthodox rabbi and president of The National Jewish Center for Leadership and Learning in New York City, spoke at 10:35 a.m. Monday in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in the E.S. Bird Library.

The event, hosted by The Carnegie Religion and Media Program in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, discussed the interaction between religion and politics with an emphasis on American culture.

Gustav Niebuhr, associate professor in religion and the media, introduced and questioned Hirschfield. Students from his REL 242: ‘Religious Issues in American Life’ class and other faculty attended the event, which attracted a total of about 50 people.

When Niebuhr asked Hirschfield what the appropriate speech to use when talking about religion and politics is, Hirschfield gave several pointers on what he felt would be appropriate.

‘You have to have a huge dose of humility when talking about these issues,’ Hirschfield said. ‘The promise that one system has all the answers is a deal breaker for me.’

Hirschfield also stressed bringing transparency and self-awareness with any animated belief. He said that there is no final word, so it’s important to have fewer debates about what is right and more about what is genuinely useful.

‘If it doesn’t concern your religion, let it go,’ he said.

Hirschfield stressed a concern with the self-serving use of religion.

‘You create a vacuum and that vacuum gets clouded up,’ Hirschfield said. ‘If success only occurs when everyone looks like us, it doesn’t work.’

Discussing issues in the media, Niebuhr mentioned videos he showed in class on speeches debated surrounding political figures’ profession of their religious beliefs. They included President Barack Obama speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Feb. 3, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaking at ‘The Response,’ a Christian event held last August.

Between the two, Hirschfield said he felt more comfortable with the president’s religious expression, but it was not an example of his political views.

‘The president prayed for humility,’ Hirschfield said. ‘Rick Perry’s was more of a concession to those who didn’t share his faith directly.’

Hirschfield closed the event by discussing the complexity of religious belief.

Nowadays, the majority of young adults will switch religions at least once, he said. On the same note, Hirschfield also said that a growing number of people in religious surveys check unaffiliated.

‘No box on a survey can capture the complexity of their inner life,’ Hirschfield said.

As guests left the room, they were welcomed to attend a free vegetarian lunch with Hirschfield at Hendricks Chapel for a discussion on coexisting in public life despite differences in personal matters.

Niebuhr said this was the third time he saw Hirschfield speak.

Niebuhr said he was also happy his students were able to attend the event for their class on religious issues in American culture as well as have the chance to see someone so profound.

Tony Dallas, a freshman engineering major, attended the event to get a better perspective on the issues.

‘I think it’s really interesting,’ said Dallas, a student in Niebuhr’s class. ‘There’s definitely a chance for discussion on the issues and a lot of different perspectives.’

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Published on November 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm